Caisson.



PATENTED AUG. 14, 1906. D. E. MORAN & J. W..DOTY. GAISSON.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1. 1905.

2 SHEBTSSHEET 1.

FIG. 4.

INVENTORS:

1) y A [far/223 s,

AAA/t, I La/av PAIENTED AUG. 14, 1906. D. E. MORAN & J. W. DOTY.

GAISSON.

APPLIOATION FILED SBPT.1,1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FIG. 7,

FIG. 5,

INVEQNTORS: 950M WITNESSES: fiw 7044;;

UNITED STATES AT F 310E DAh\IEL E. MORAN, OF MENDHAM, NEW JERSEY,- ANJD JOHNI DOTY,

i To all wihom it may concern.-

Be it k own that we, DANIEL E. MORAN, a citizen ofit ham, in the county of Morris an State of s New Jersey, and JOHN W. Do'rY, a subject of the King, of Great Britain, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State of New-York, have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvements in Caissons, of which the following is a specification.

In Patents Nos. 759,388 and 759,389, of May 10, 1904, there are described certain improvements in pneumatic caissons, such as are ordinarily used in making foundations for buildings, whereby the caisson is constructed substantially entirely of concrete without the usual coffer-dam or shell of steel or timber and in such a way as'to form nearly the whole of the pier at once instead of first sinkinga caisson and cofier-dam and subseuently filling these with concrete to form t e pier.

The present invention relates to certain features of improvement in the structure and in the method of putting it together and sinking it,:b y which the same results may be secured in a more practical way. Certain fea' tures are also presented here which are independent of the subjects of the above patents.

An important feature is in the makin of the body alone of concrete or equivalent p aistic material, this body being being built upon a working-chamber of non-plastic materialsuch, for example, as steel or timber. In this way the working chamber can be very readily transported in sections and put together on the job and sunk as a whole, .while the body portion can be built up of concrete in place little by little orindarge units as the working-chamber is sunk. Timber or steel is also preferable for the workin -chamber, in that thesematerials have su cient tensile strength to resist the flexing strains to which the working-chamber is sometimes sub'ected, while it is doubtful if concrete woul have suflicient strength under extreme conditions unless made'extremely heavy. The formation and sinking ofthis caisson is therefore rather the formation and sinking of all of the pier (except for the space within the workingchamber and the shaft) at the first o ration than the forming of s shaft with s sr-dsm to hold back the earth end subsequently fill- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 1, 1905'. Serial No. 276.767.

he United States, residin at Mend- I OF NEWYORK, N. Y.

i oAlssoN.

ing in this cofier-dam to form the pier, as in the process now generally used. The concrete body is supported by suitable means extending across between the walls of the chamber,which supporting means may be permanent or may be partly or entirely temporary, so as to ultimately'leave the concrete to form part of or the entire roof'of the chamber. Certain other improvemepts are referred to in detail hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of tlie invention.

Figures 1 and 2 are transverse sections ata point outsideof the shaft and through the center of the shaft, res ectively, illustrating a timber working-chem er. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the body of the caisson. Fig. 4 is a plan of a working-chamber with a support for the concrete, artlytempora'ry and partly permanent. ig. 5 is a transverse section of a caisson with a steel chamber. Fig. 6 is a similar section showing a slightly-difierent style of'steel chamber. Fig. 7 is a central section illustrating variations in detail. Figs. 8 and9 are a plan and diametral section, respectively, illustrating a shaft-lining of special construction.

Referring to the embodiments of the invention illustrated, the working-chamber A is made sufficiently large to accommodate I workmen, as usual, who work under a pressurfii dfg air de ending upon the depth of excaif'ation'. sa e ihorizontal dimensions as the workingch-limber, and a shaft C passes through the body, whereby during the sinking ,of the caisson men and materials ass to and fromthe working-chamber, an compressed air is usually transmitted to the working-chamber from an air-lock D, Fig. 7, located at the-up- ,perend. The pneumatic operationsinvolved in the sinking ofthe caisson are well understood, and the details of the pneumatic apparatusf'are therefore not illustrated. I

The Working-chamber, which is designated in each case by the latter A, maybe constructed with slde wallaE of timber, Figs. 1,

2, and 7 or with side walls consisting'of steel plates F, Figs. 5 and 6. A consideratlon of the length and depth of the workin chamher, an actual example of which is s own 1n 1 to 4, will maks' it clear that it may be an 1 acted to sessr'e flexing stresses in a vertics1 directiqnssnn show the advantageof- I}. i j Patented Aug--14. 1906.

T e body B, of concrete, is of the the top oi the pier.

' This construction has the advantage that chamber and unites strongly to tachment to said plates, can be carried in superior for this purpose to plastic material.

construction and operation of the working- .of the working-chamber.

' ever weakness is introduced by the usual inusing non-plastic material therefor, which by its resistance to tensile or flexible stresses 1s Timber or steel can also be more convenl ientiyput together and handled. Us ng, therefore, a material better adapted for the chamberwe nevertheless preserve the advantage of sinking nearly the entire pier at once, and we avoid the use of an expensive and objectionable cotter-d am throughout the height of the pier by building a body of concrete extending from the working-cliambcr to I The. concrete may be built in blocks and laid directly on the working-chamber; but preferably it is built in place upon a floor supported from the walls Whether or not this floor shall be permanent orpartly or entirely temporary depends chiefly upon the dimensions. For the comparatively large working-chamber of Figs. 1 to 4 we propose to support a temporary floor, shown. in. Fig. 6,) consisting of planks or boards G, attached to the under sides of angles or similarlyshaped ribs H, the latter in turn being supported upon the upper edges of the walls E. The concrete body B is then molded directly thereon, and after it has set the temporary floor G is withdrawn, leaving the ribs H embedded in the base of the concrete, as in Fig. 1, and giving support to the latter in the open space between the walls of the chamber. the forms the roof of the workingthe filling of concrete which is ultimately introduced into the chamber, forming substantially a monolith with such filling and eliminating whatconcrete body terposition of a roof between the filling of concrete in the chamber andthe concrete of the pier immediately above-the"chamber. On the other hand, and especially for small caissons, it is very convenient to provide a permanent support-such,'ior example, as the head J, Fig. 5 of sheet metal, constituting, in effect, a broad flange projecting from the sidewalls of the chamber, or, as in Fig. 6, the steel plate side walls'F may be provided with flanges K, which support ribs II and floor-boards G similar to those of Fig. 1.

The steel construction lends itself mostadmirably to convenience and rapidity. The depthof the working-chamber is in nearly all cases-the same, and plates of corresponding width and of standard lengths with angles L for stiffening the cutting edge and angles K for supporting the concrete body, either already attached or ready for immediate'atstock and can always be obtained quickly and cheaply, and a chamber of'any desired horizontal dimensions can be very quicklyput' together from such plates and angles,

. course subject to tubes Fig. 2, or may be omitted entirely, 'as in F 5, a coating of impervious paint be ing applied, it necessary, to prevent too rapid escape oi air. Preferably, however, the lin ing is made of tubes N, Fig. 7, 0t molded concrete or other plastic mate ial, which, being hardened before erection serves as a perma nent form about which to build up the concrete body and which being harder than the concrete body is better adapted to resist the wear to which the lining of the shattis sub jected by blows from the bucket We proposeto provide also 'a layer 0 of impervious material-such,"for example, as paint or the like upon the outside of the concrete lining N-this being put in place, of course, belore the surrounding concrete is built up. By this -construction the tube of impervious material O is entirely protected from blows by the bucket. The lining, whether it be a steel tube M or a concrete tube N, ispreferably supported upon the floor until the concrete around it has set, (or perm ancntly where a permanent floor, such as J, is employed.)

in sinking the caisson thev working-chamher will bebuilt upon the desired location,- the concrete-supporting iloor put in place, and the permanent lining or a temporary internal form and also the external mold-boards or form erected a suitable distance above the top of the working-chamber. The concrete body will then be built up to the top of the mold or form and allowed to set, when the mold-boards may be removed, the caisson a coat of tar- I sunk a certain distance, and the concrete again built up as before. It is understood that for the purpose of sinking the caisson an air-lock D must be connected to the top of the shaft C. This air-lock maybe connected by a section of pipe P, having a flange Q, held body B during the building up of thelatter. The lock is disconnected each time that a new section of concrete is built up and is re placed upon the new section before the work .of excavation can proceed.

Since the concrete tubes N, constituting the shaft-lining, are hard and strongat the time that they are set in place, and since they down by bolts R embedded in the concrete will ordinarily be of standard lengths, so as to extend the shaft always good distance upward above the next lower length, it may be more convenient to connect the bolts R to the tubesN, the latter being provided with lugs S, Figs. 8 and 9, into which thebolts B may be conveniently set. The manner of connecting the bolts Rto the tubes N is of a wide variation. It is important to have the look held down strongly sasnci and reliably against the upward pressure of the air therein.

reaching a point V a little below the final upper end of the pier a coifer-dam Wis erected of any usual or suitable construction and supported upon the finished body of'the caisson. The whole is then sunk as one continue ous structure totlie position indicated in Fig.

1. The air-lock is then removed and the chamber A and shaft C filled with concrete in the usual manner and the entire pier finished to the level U. y

The coifer-dam W may be of any material and construction which will permit it to serve merely as a retaining-wall for the surrounding earth and to be withdrawn when such earth shall be subsequently excavated to approximately the upper end of the concrete pler.

Though we have described-with great particularity of detail certain embodiments of our invention, yet it is not to be understood therefrom that the invention is limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. Various to form the roof.

. of said chamber, and building a bodyof-com 2; The method of forming a caisson, which consists in building a working-chamber without a roof, supporting a floor from the walls crete upon said floor.

3. The method of forming a' caisson, which consists in building a working-chamber Without a,ro f, supporting a temporary floor from the wall of sald chamber, building a body of concrpt on said temporary floor, and withdrawing place, moldin in :caisson and signed our names in concrete on said temporar floor, and withdrawing said temporary ribs in place to give support to the concrete. 6. The method of forming a caisson, which consists in building a working-chamber with a body of concrete thereon extending upward to a point below the level of the ground, and applying to the upper end of said body a coffer-damW adapted to act merely as a retaining-wall and to be Withdrawn when the earth is excavated to approximately the upper end of the body of concrete.

7. The method of forming and sinking in the earth a combined caisson and concrete ier to form a foundation for buildings or the like, which consists in building a workingchamber, supporting a floor from the walls of said chamber, supporting a shaft-lining in lace a body of concrete around said 's haftining, and then sinking the combined caisson and pier.

8. The method of forming and sinking in the earth a combined caisson and concrete pier to form a foundation for buildings or the like, which consists in building a workingchamber, supporting a floor from the wallsof said chamber, supporting a shaft-lining of molded lastic material in place, and molding in-p ace a body of concrete around said shaft-lining, and then sinking the combined 9. The method of forming a caisson, which consists in building a working-chamber, sup porting a floor from the walls of said cham ber, supporting a shaft-lining of molded lastic material in place, applying a layerb substantially impervious material to the outside of said shaft-lining, and building a body of concrete around said shaft-lining.

' 10. A combined caisson and concrete pier adapted to be sunk through earth to forma oor, leaving said foundation for buildings and the like and hav- I ing a workingchamber of non-plastic ma terial and a body of concrete molded in place thereon, said concrete forming the .roof of said'chamber.

11. A caisson having a working-chamber,

and having a body'of concrete, in combination with a coffer-dam W applied to the upper end of said body adapted to act merely as, aretaining-wall and to be withdrawn when the earth surrounding it is excavated. 12. A caisson having a workin -chamber comprising wall-plates F having anges K, members H extendin across said chamber at intervals, and a bo y of concrete support ed by said flanges K and members H.

In witness whereof we have hereunto the presence of two sub- DANIEL E. MORAN.

. i JOHN W. DOTY.

Witnesses:

EDWIN F. KELLOGG,

JAs. C. LOGAN.

scribing witnesses.

Qiaalaimer in Letters Patent i\i0:828,.76i.

DI$CLAIMER- SZSJHL IMM'eZ Moran, Mfindhaizs, N. J], and Joim W. 007:9, New York, N. 'Y.

UAISSON. Patentdated August 14. 1906. Disclaimer filed January 1 9 1915, by

T/iw N/undatimz, @nmymny, assi nee, by mesne assignments.

Enters (hiss disclaimer as follows: i

Where the specification and (:ldims i'er'in' to caissor s 01' a caisson or piers r a pier your petitioner disvlaimsall caissons 01* piers except- "pneumatic (-aissons and GHlSSOHS 01 piers sunk on land for forming feunclations for buildings on land."

[(lfiim'al (Il a H January 1.915.] 

